Sudirman Street Food Market - A Foodie Oasis in Bandung
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The West Javan capital city of Bandung is a total melting pot of architecture, culture, art and food. This sprawling metropolis is a giant mixing bowl of old and new, Sundanese and Javanese, classic and modern. Old colonial buildings sit next door to glass fronted office blocks, fresh markets sprawl across the street in front of enormous air conditioned shopping malls, gridlocked concrete flyovers tower over pretty, quiet tree lined streets. Bandung is a unique blend of all the highs and lows of Indonesia, and this is nowhere more apparent than in its thriving food scene!
Food is available everywhere in Bandung and has everything you could possibly ever want to eat. From street side offerings to Michelin guide restaurants and everything in between, Bandung is a city to be hungry in!
If you’ve been following along with our journey, or have seen our posts and stories on our Instagram you’ll know by now, that we absolutely love our food and one of our favourite ways to really get to know a city is via its culinary offerings. On the streets of Istanbul we dove head first and tried all the street food it had to offer, had an amazing night trying lots of bizzare barbecue meats with the locals in Ho Chi Minh City and set ourselves a £5 eating challenge in Hat Yai’s Florida Night Market in Thailand. Wherever we are, we always like to eat.
We love to try everything we can, and eating at a market is one of our favourite ways to dine. This is where we would like to introduce you to Bandung’s Sudirman Street Day and Night Market.
What is the Sudirman Street Day and Night Market?
The Sudirman Street Day and Night Market is a large covered food court that’s chock full of stalls, beverage sellers and restaurants (some fixed and some on wheels) offering cuisines from across the world. From Indonesian favourites such as satay and mie goreng, to Korean fried cheese sticks and Japanese sushi, there’s something for everyone to eat at the market. There is even a bar selling alcohol which we will go into in more detail later.
What to expect at Sudirman Street Day and Night Market - Our Experience
Stepping out of our Grab taxi, we knew we had arrived in Bandung’s version of a foodie heaven! Smoke from charcoal barbeques filled the air, the smell of roasting meats wafted through our noses and the distinct clang of woks frying noodles could be heard all around. Hungry, and being led by our senses, we headed into the market, excited to try everything the food court had to offer.
Before getting settled at one of the empty tables, we decided to do a quick tour of the market to see what we were letting ourselves in for. This walking orbit is now an unspoken ritual for us in any hawker centre, food court or night market. We like to circle round, possibly more than once, just to make sure we’ve seen everything that’s on offer. There was so much choice at Sudirman it was almost hard for us to take it all in. For some, when there’s an overwhelming choice it can become a bit of a burden, choice paralysis is real! For us, however, the scale of the market did not lead to paralysis but to the instant realisation that there was too much food for one sitting, we would have to visit a few times! We were hungry and the choices seemed almost endless, it was time to get our munch on.
Over the next week, we visited the market almost everyday and dined on some fantastic food. From perfectly barbecued sate of chicken, beef and pork sticks, to the cheapest (most delicious) crab you can imagine (£1.80 for a whole crab in black pepper sauce!). We ate too many dishes to go into any detail so here is a quick list of things we enjoyed at the market:
Satay - Both chicken and beef. They are barbecued then and there in front of you!
Crab - Unbelievably cheap and yummy.
Kuay Teow - Ellie's favourite noodles, wok charred and delicious.
Mie Goreng - You cannot go wrong in Indonesia with fried noodles!
Chicken Wings - The Korean stall provided excellent beer accompaniments.
Pork and Rice - Slightly rarer in Indonesia, we had been craving a porky platter and this did not disappoint.
Coconut Milkshake - Super refreshing.
Wontons and Dumplings - Always one of our favourites, crunchy wontons and succulent dumplings are a must order anytime we see them.
Iced Coffee - You are never far from a good cup of Java in Java.
Beer - Forgive us we are British.
For those who like an iced cold beer with their street side dining experience, there is a bar come off-licence that sells all the popular Indonesian beers from Bintang, Prost and Singaraja as well as international beers of Carlsberg, Heinekin and Corona. The off-licence shop also sold arak as well as spirits of every kind and even some expensive bottles of wine!
A word to the wise - the bar/off-licence has tables outside, snag one of these and you can use it as a base to order any of your food from - order at any stall and they will deliver to your table.
Where is the Sudirman Street Day and Night Market?
Sudirman Street Day and Night Market is located in the centre of Bandung on Jalan Jend. Sudirman (location). The market stretches the full length between Jalan Jend. Sudirman and Jalan Cibadak with entrances on both streets.
The market is a 12 minute walk away (or 10 minute drive) from Bandung Railway station, with the purple Cisitu Tegalega bus route (running every 10 minutes from early morning to 9pm) serving both the train station and market.
How to reach the Sudirman Street Market?
If you’re staying in the Centre of Bandung, the market is within easy walking distance of most of downtown central Bandung. However, if you’d prefer to get there by wheels there are lots of options.
Both the ride hailing apps of Grab and GoJek work within the city, and a ride should be cheap and quick to find.
If you’d prefer to arrive by public transport, there is a bus stop a 2 minute walk (170m) from the market. With the purple bus route of Cisitu Tegalega running every 10 minutes and the blue bus routes of Koridor 2 and Koridor 5 running every 20 to 25 minutes.
What time does the Sudirman Street Market Open?
The food court is open everyday from 10am (11am on Saturdays) to 11pm in the evenings.
However, each food vendor within the market has their own opening times, so be aware that not every stall in the market may be open when you visit.
Quite a few of the stalls have their own Google Map listings as well as Instagram/Facebook pages so if there’s somewhere specific you’d like to dine at, maybe check in advance.
Is there an entrance fee?
There is no entrance fee to enter the market. The only cost to you, will be whatever you decide to eat and drink!
The market is slightly more expensive than other street food stalls around the city, but given the location and convenience, we’d say it's definitely worth the slightly higher price.
What should I eat at the Sudirman Street Market?
This is an easy question, everything! We stayed in Bandung for over a week and dined at the market almost every night and did not once have a bad meal. There is so much to choose from, we don’t think you could ever get bored.
If you’re dining as a couple, we’d recommend sending each other off to surprise the other with another plate. It is a great way to try more of what the market has to offer, and it is exciting not to know what’s being delivered to your table!
Are there toilets at the Sudirman Street Day and Night Market?
Yes there are.
You need to pay 2000 IDR to enter, but you are given toilet paper after payment. When we visited the toilets were always very clean, even at the end of a busy Saturday night.
Where should I stay in Bandung, is there accommodation close to the market?
There are lots of accommodation choices in Bandung from hostels and guesthouses to high end hotels. We would recommend staying in the centre of Bandung so that you’re within walking distance of the night market.
Check out our handy map below to see what accommodation is on offer within Bandung:
Final Thoughts
The Sudirman Street Day and Night market is the perfect place to spend an evening in Bandung.
A well fed Ellie is a happy Ellie!
Offering a little bit of everything, it’s a one stop food court that will cater to everyone's tastes. For those who are unsure about ordering from street side stalls or haven’t yet sampled the amazing rice and curries from warung joints, the Sudirman Street market takes all the worry away. The vast majority of stalls had menus in English, and even if they didn’t, we found the age old trick of pointing and smiling got us by.
If you’re staying in Bandung, we’d recommend spending at least one night here as we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and even if you’re the fussiest of eaters we’re sure there would be something for you to eat!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
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